How a Neck Lift Can Help

The neck lift procedure removes excess skin and fat around your jawline and addresses age-related wrinkling and creasing in this area, to provide a smoother, slimmer profile. A neck lift enhances the appearance of the neck by tightening the skin and underlying neck muscles and improving the contour of the jawline.

Loose skin and neck banding are usually associated with aging. Hereditary factors can also cause even younger men and women to lose definition in their jawline and neck. Significant weight loss can also contribute to sagging or hanging skin, requiring a neck lift.

You might choose to have a neck lift if you:

  • Have lost the distinct jawline of your youth and want to restore it
  • Have excess skin and wrinkles on your neck
  • Desire a sleeker neck with a distinct jawline that separates your neck from your face
  • You have excess fat in your neck
  • Your neck has developed folds and lines

A neck lift can:

  • Significantly improve your neck and jawline
  • Be done as a stand-alone procedure if other facial surgery is not needed or desired
  • Provide you with a more youthful profile

Neck Lift Procedure

A neck lift begins with a small, inconspicuous incision directly below the chin (platysmaplasty) and/or in front of the ear lobes, looping behind the ears and ending in the scalp near the back of the neck (cervicoplasty). Sagging skin is trimmed away and lifted during cervicoplasty; loose muscles that cause the “bands” around the neck to be prominent are tightened during platysmaplasty. In some cases, it is necessary to perform only one of the two procedures. Liposuction is sometimes used to remove excess fat; if so, it is performed before the neck lift. Incisions are glued and/or sutured closed.

A neck lift usually takes 2 to 4 hours to perform, and the patient is given either general anesthesia or local anesthesia with sedation. Most neck lifts are performed on an outpatient basis. Bandages covering incisions are removed after a few days; sutures are typically removed after 7 to 10 days.

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Neck Liposuction Before & After